Some Main Street Merchants Fear Effects Of Daytona Plan

June 3, 1986|By Robin Benedick of The Sentinel Staff

DAYTONA BEACH — The Main Street of today soon may be a memory.

If city officials have their way, one of the most notorious streets in Central Florida, home to biker and gay bars, leather, souvenir and T-shirt shops and abandoned buildings, will be transformed into a vibrant cultural and entertainment center complete with cafes, glitzy shops and restaurants and theaters.

The revitalization promises to upgrade an area considered an eyesore. But some merchants say it also threatens to run off established businesses and put an end to Bike Week, when more than 40,000 motorcycle enthusiasts converge on Main Street every March for cycle races at Daytona International Speedway.

Redevelopment of Main Street is the recommendation of a $25,000 study by a team of consultants. Among many things, the report suggests that parking be abolished on Main Street and that property owners work together and with the city to spruce up unsightly buildings and provide parking behind their shops. Some merchants say the city intends to use the plan to get rid of the bikers, bars and run-down shops. By eliminating parking, the bikers no longer would come to town and spend thousands of dollars at Main Street stores, the merchants say.

But the city has not made any decision concerning parking on Main Street or adopting the plan. Suzanne Kuehn, a redevelopment officer, said the city wants to find ways to accommodate the bikers, even if it means moving them to another area, such as the new Ocean Center or the beach.

City Manager Howard Tipton could not be reached.

''If they (city officials) take parking off Main Street, Bike Week will be gone from here,'' said Dennis Maguire, 45, owner of the Boot Hill Saloon, 310 Main St.

Maguire was one of about 200 people who attended a meeting recently to learn about the plan, which would rejuvenate Main Street from the Halifax River to the Atlantic Ocean between Oakridge Boulevard and Broadway.

To his surprise, Maguire, who bought the well-known tavern 12 years ago, discovered that the plan calls for demolishing his bar and replacing it with John's Family Market on Grandview.

''It was a big shock for me to walk into that meeting and see this big store standing in place of my business,'' Maguire said of the artist's rendering. ''The city is playing dirty pool.''

For many merchants, Bike Week makes up between 40 and 70 percent of their annual income. ''I don't have a business until that one week,'' said Yetay, 34, the owner of Chopper's World, 618 Main St. He said he made more than $20,000 in sales during Bike Week this year.

While the plan is considered by city officials as a management tool for revamping Main Street, Maguire said he is convinced the concept will become reality.

Under the proposal, the city would remove parking on Main Street, widen sidewalks for pedestrians and build a multilevel garage on the east side of Grandview, just north of Main. The city has allocated about $3 million for improvements to utilities, streetscaping and new parking areas in the Main Street area between now and 1989.

Property owners are being asked to consider building lots and garages behind their buildings to compensate for the proposed no-parking order on Main Street.

They also are responsible for sprucing up their property under an ordinance passed by the city commission in February.

Karl Smith, owner of the seven Rat's Hole T-shirt Shops in Daytona Beach, said many merchants fear the city will exercise eminent domain to take over their property. ''Most of us don't object to cleaning up Main Street,'' said Smith, who has owned the shops for seven years. ''But the city should put up the money to make these repairs,'' he added.

The city is sponsoring a loan program as an incentive for property owners to rehabilitate buildings beyond minimum code requirements. Loans from $10,000 to $100,000 at the prime interest rate would be available with extended payment periods of up to 15 years, said city planner Jerry Langston. The city will assist in repayment at a maximum of two percentage points.